The Hindu : Jayalalithaa pledges support

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 18, 2002

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Jayalalithaa pledges support

By Suresh Nambath

CHENNAI July 17. The growing bonhomie between the BJP and the AIADMK found another expression today with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary, Jayalalithaa, supporting the NDA candidate for the Vice-Presidential election, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

With the senior BJP leader and Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, calling her up twice in the last two days, Ms. Jayalalithaa committed the votes of the AIADMK MPs to the candidature of Mr. Shekhawat.

The AIADMK had supported the NDA nominee, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in the Presidential election too, but at that time Ms. Jayalalithaa had attributed her decision to the need for a consensus. Moreover, she had rejected the earlier Presidential nominee of the NDA, P.C. Alexander.

However, the support for Mr. Shekhawat, a BJP leader, without even waiting for any attempt at consensus-building, shows the AIADMK's desire to be in the NDA company. Even while declaring that she would maintain equidistance from both the Congress and the BJP, Ms. Jayalalithaa has been supporting the ruling NDA on crucial issues such as POTA. Even when the Gujarat issue came up for voting, the AIADMK did not vote with the Opposition and, instead, chose to abstain.

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